Two-hour marathon record eludes Kenyan by 26 seconds

A lightning-fast Kenyan was only 26 seconds away on Saturday from becoming the first person to run a marathon in less than two hours.

On the Monza Formula One track in Italy, Eliud Kipchoge ran 26.2 miles in an astonishing two hours, 25 seconds, smashing Dennis Kimetto’s world record of 2:02:57, and producing a performance that suggests one of sport’s most famous barriers will be broken sooner rather than later.

“We are going up the tree,” Kipchoge said. “I have lifted a branch and I am going on to the next one. This is not the end of the attempt of runners on two hours.”

The Nike-sponsored Breaking2 attempt will not go down as an official world record due to the use of pacers and drinks being given to runners via mopeds. Nevertheless, it will be the yardstick against which future performances are judged.

“I rank this as the highest-ever performance in my life,” Kipchoge said. “The aim of Breaking2 was to pass the message that running a less than two-hour marathon is possible. That message is really special to me.”

Nike CEO Mark Parker said millions of people around the world had watched as running history was being written. “This achievement represents more than a race,” Parker said. “It’s a moment of global inspiration that will encourage every athlete, in every community, to push the limits of their potential.”

Two-time Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa, from Ethiopia, and Eritrean half-marathon world record-holder Zersenay Tadese were also part of the Breaking2 project, which started at 5:45 am local time to ensure an optimum temperature for running, but both finished well off the pace.

Kipchoge, 32, passed the halfway mark in 59:54, but his average pace of 4:36 per mile was just not enough, despite a final heroic sprint to the tape. His performance, however, was at the top end of what the Breaking2 team had believed was possible.

Speaking before the attempt, Andrew Jones, professor of physiology at Exeter University who advised the runners on their training and nutrition programmes, told the Observer: “The variety of innovations and interventions we’ve put in place is worth a minimum of 90 seconds and a maximum of three minutes.”

Jones predicted a sub two-hour marathon was now firmly in sight. “I do believe that if you had all of the best runners in the world in the same race in perfect conditions, you could see a sub two-hour marathon and what we’ve been implementing here might get people working together to achieve that goal.”